


rotten inside.

by shortbreadd



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic, Suicide Squad (2016)
Genre: Aaron and Andrew are a lot closer than in canon, Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Manipulation, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Suicide Squad AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2019-11-07 20:06:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17967167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shortbreadd/pseuds/shortbreadd
Summary: I suck at summaries, so I'll give a basic overview. The Foxes are all dangerous criminals stuck in Edgar Allen Prison. Ichirou Moriyama proposes a plan to put them in a Task force for when "heroes" turn on humans. He makes the case, and the Foxes are released to fight crime.Cast:Andrew: DeadshotNeil: HarleyWymack: Rick FlagAbby: Dr. MooneAaron: SlipknotKevin: Prison guardRenee: KatanaAllison: El DiabloMatt: Killer CrocRiko: JokerDan: Captain BoomerangKatelyn: MedicIchirou: Amanda WallerDisclaimer: I don't have a beta, so I'm urging you to message me at my tumblr @aftgfics if you see any mistakes! Updates will come irregularly cause high school hits ya hard bro. You don't need to watch Suicide Squad to read this fic, but it will be pretty confusing if you don't. Enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

At 10:32 PM on December 29th, Ichirou Moriyama walked into the top floor of Councilman Alexander Digard’s penthouse apartment with a folder on the most dangerous people in the United States. He walked in with a plan. 

Ichirou had a seemingly pleasant dinner with the Councilman, then drew out the folder, and opened it up. 

On the first page, sat the picture of Andrew Minyard and everything that the world knew about him. The report had the words, Andrew Minyard, (Monster) 19 years in bold on the top. Right below the inscription read Body Count: 127. 

Councilman Alexander had heard of the Monster. He was a infamous killer in Midway City, and was rumored to kill anybody for the right price. And he was only nineteen years old. 

The next page described how he had been caught. Councilman Alexander read through the whole thing then looked up at Ichirou with a hard look in his eyes. 

“Ichirou, please don’t tell me you’re propositioning the Task X-force again?” He accused. 

Ichirou smiled coldly. “The Monster was one of the biggest menaces in Midway City until the Batman captured him and his twin brother, then stuffed them both in Edgar Allen Prison. He has a body count of over one hundred and twenty, and was sentenced to two lifetime sentences.”

He continued. “He was the uncatchable killer, but everyone has a weakness to exploit. His was his twin brother.” 

>>

Andrew sat sweating through his clothes on a sweltering July evening, and hated everything in the world. He hated his brother especially. Why couldn’t Aaron keep lookout for the stupid gang boss? 

Andrew could have been disabling the cameras all around the alley, but Aaron had insisted that the exit just had to be watched. It was foolish. Logically, Andrew knew that he had to be on the lookout, as he didn’t have Aaron’s knowledge of the technological systems, but that didn’t stop him from sulking. 

He sat waiting with his binoculars held up, gun at the ready, when a noises from a scuffle came from right where Aaron should have been. 

Immediately, Andrew sprang up and sprinted to the side of the building and jumped down, and softened the impact by rolling, then springing up, but the sight he beheld made his face pale. 

A knife was held at Aaron’s throat by a masked stranger, and Andrew was tempted to just shoot the guy in the head, but when he examined the man further, he dropped his gun. It really was goddamn irony, wasn’t it, to try to assassinate a gang boss, only to stopped by the fucking Batman. 

Andrew slowly dropped his arms, only for Batman to hold the knife closer, and for Aaron to whiten with fear. A gruff, low voice called out. 

“If you do not agree to disarm yourself and put yourself in custody, I will be forced to slit this one’s throat. I will give you thirty seconds to decide.” 

Andrew wanted to snort and laugh. So much for the Batman being an almighty Hero. Here he was, threatening to murder a teenager in cold-blood without a fight. Still, he had no choice. Aaron’s eyes were darting between the knife at his throat and back to Andrew’s eyes.

“Andrew, if you need to leave, it’s fine. I mean- I don’t wanna die, but I-I trust you, yeah?” 

The words were said in rapid succession, rushed and stuttered out. If Andrew still had a heart, it would have warmed at the thought that Aaron was willing to die for him if Andrew made the decision to retreat. 

But there was no way in hell that he was leaving Aaron to die. Sure, they had a deal, but in the past few years, he’d become a real brother to him. The closest thing he had to the brother he’d always wanted. 

Andrew blew out a controlled breath, then began to strip himself of his countless knives and guns. As soon as the weapons were gone, the Batman moved forward so swiftly he almost missed it, and handcuffed Andrew’s hands together. 

Soon, Andrew was being led off to who knows where with Aaron by the stupid Batman, but he didn’t regret a thing. 

>>

Councilman Alexander’s hands tightened on the paper, but didn’t say anything. Ichirou had yet to reveal his point, but he didn’t say anything yet. Councilman Alexander knew it was unwise to interrupt Ichirou. He simple waited a beat then motioned for Ichirou to go on. 

“Nathaniel Wesninski, age eighteen, son of the Butcher, and former psychiatrist of Riko Moriyama, the infamous King in Arkham Asylum. Wesninski treated the King for almost two years, believing that he was curing the King, but he was actually just falling in love with Riko Moriyama. Talk about a workplace romance gone wrong.” 

>>

Nathaniel waited impatiently as the security guards outside of Riko’s room examined the grayish mush that was Riko’s meal, along with a sports magazine. There was really no need to all of it, seeing as he’d already been patted down at the checkpoint. 

Very thoroughly. Nathaniel shivered at the thought of the hands reaching in with far too much vigor, but shook it off. 

Finally, the guards finished, and waved Nathaniel in. As he walked inside, he heard them snicker, “I don’t know how the boy does it. Even the sound of his voice gives me chills.” 

He huffed, and hurried after the door banged shut. Inside, Riko sat waiting, a manic smile on his face. 

“Hello Nat. What have you brought me today?” 

Nathaniel suppressed a smile, and held up the little sports magazine. The smile widened, and Riko breathed out, “You’re very thoughtful, Nat.” Nathaniel had to laugh a little at the hungry way Riko watched the magazine, as he opened it. 

He began to read aloud, and once in a while, showed Riko the pictures. Nathaniel tried to pretend he wasn’t watching Riko’s handsome face while he read from the magazine. There was one photo of a lacrosse player, and Nathaniel turned the whole paper around to show Riko, as he was very interested that one sport. 

Riko smirked, and leaned across the counter as far as he could go. “Could you come a little closer so I can see it?” 

Nathaniel let out a shaky breath, and reached across the counter with his whole body, pressing as close as he dared. Riko laughed a little, and said, “Closer, Nat. My eyes are very weak, you see,” 

He inhaled, and then leaned so far in that he was practically laying on the table, only an inch away from Riko’s face. They stayed like that for almost a minute, before Nathaniel flushed and sat back. 

“Don’t you need to eat now?” Riko nodded, and Nathaniel started feeding him a ‘nutritious’ gray slop. When Nathaniel finished, Riko smiled genuinely, and whispered, “Nat. I’ll tell you a secret. You are my favorite out of all the doctors in this place.” 

Nathaniel walked out with a bounce in his step and his heart pounding from Riko’s confession. 

>>

“Nat. Did you know? It’s my birthday today,” Nathaniel sat up straighter and grinned. “No, really? I would have gotten you something!” Nathaniel thought about what Riko would like. 

He liked sports magazines, but Nathaniel brought those almost every week. Nathaniel’s musings were interrupted by Riko’s smooth voice. 

“There is something you could get me though, Doctor,” 

“Anything- I mean, what do you want?” 

“I need a machine gun.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Let go of me, you fucking son of a-” Nathaniel cut off abruptly at the sight of Riko entering the room. He was shirtless, and he spread his arms wide, as if presenting a stage to an invisible crowd. Then his gaze shifted to Nathaniel and his eyes hardened. 

“Well, well, well. Just what do we have here?” 

“R-Riko. What happened? Did you get out? Why are you still here?” Riko let out a crazed laugh at that, and leaned in close to the table that Nathaniel was strapped to. 

“Still so worried about my well-being, Doctor?” 

“I-I did everything you asked, I helped you!” Nathaniel cried. Riko tugged the surgical light straight into Nathaniel’s face with a harsh creak, and rage filled every crevice of his face. “You helped me? By erasing what memories I had? By using your goddamn medicine and therapy to twist my mind?” Riko shouted. 

Then he glanced at Nathaniel’s hands, covered in blood from the guard that he had stabbed in order to shut off power in the building, and his face twisted into a too-wide grin. 

“But it seems like you’re a loyal little boy, yeah? Did you kill someone for me, stab them to death or shoot someone straight between the eyes?” 

When Nathaniel’s face betrayed the answer, Riko burst into guffaws. Nathaniel waited a few seconds before risking answering. 

“So what are you going to do Riko, are you going to kill me like I did to the guard? Stab me straight into the neck and leave the body to rot?” Riko’s face smoothed out, and this time his voice was syrupy honey. 

“Oh no, I’m not going to kill you. I’m just going to hurt you, really, really, bad.” Nathaniel tensed at the promise, but didn’t struggle. Riko slid out his belt and folded in half, then shoved it between Nathaniel’s teeth. “Wouldn’t want to break those perfect little pearls when the juice kicks in, would we?” Riko said. 

It was the last thing Nathaniel heard before he felt cold metal press into his foreheads and agony burst through his very being. 

>>

“With Nathaniel’s help, Riko came back stronger than ever, and really became the King of Gotham once again, but this time he had a queen to rule beside him. The two became unstoppable. They say that Nathaniel is crazier than Riko. More daring, more brave.” Ichirou stopped to take a drink from his champagne. 

>>

Riko sat in the private lounge he had bought for a meeting with one of the more prominent gang leaders of Gotham. It was unlikely that he would provide a challenge, but it was good etiquette to greet your allies once you had escaped prison. 

While he waited, he watched through the beaded window, where Nathaniel was on a stage, dancing. It was dirty, especially with Nathaniel’s very skimpy and revealing clothes. Riko could feel hunger coming up at the sight of Nathaniel’s slim legs and narrow waist undulating in time to the beat. 

Eventually, the man came, and held out his hand to shake. Riko only looked at the hand, imperious, until the man guarding the entrance shook his head and gestured to the plush seat across from Riko. 

He took a seat, and Riko almost wrinkled his nose at the scent of cigarette smoke and cheap cologne that drifted off of him. He stopped, though, when the man started speaking. 

“Hey, Riko, on behalf of everybody, welcome back. I got investments, some sweet places that the higher-ups go to, and-” 

“Are you sweet talking me?” Riko cut off. “I love this guy. So ready to please-” Riko was cut off by catcalls and whoops from the audience, and his attention drifted back to Nathaniel. 

The gang leader- Bulldog, was it? Followed Riko’s attention to the stage, and whistled. “You got lucky there, Riko. He’s a bad bitch.” A tendril of rage started in Riko’s gut. Nobody but him was allowed to call Nathaniel such things. He decided to let Nathaniel decide what do with him. 

He whistled twice, and Nathaniel’s head whipped up. He began to make his way to Riko and soon he was climbing in through the beads, perched on the ledge. He let Riko pull him the rest of the way through, and grinned up at Riko. 

Nathaniel spoke in a sultry voice. “Hey, puddin, whatcha doing?” He slid his already very short skirt up unsubtly, and Riko couldn’t take it anymore, and pressed Nathaniel straight into the wall and kissed him while Nathaniel made pleased noises against his mouth. 

Riko broke away with some difficulty, and announced in a loud voice, “May I present, the one and only, Nathaniel Wesninski!” He enjoyed the effect that the name made on the Bulldog, and Nathaniel slipped closer to the Bulldog. 

“Now listen here, Nat. You are here to greet one of my very good friends, the Bulldog.” Riko smirked as desire spread over the Bulldog’s face when Nathaniel came closer. 

“You’re handsome, aren’t you?” Nathaniel dropped into the Bulldog’s lap, all lithe arms and legs. Riko felt a surge of possessiveness at the sight of the R and M tattooed on Nathaniel’s cheekbones, and the his white hair dyed red and black at the tips.

Riko thought that Nathaniel looked much better like this, not like the innocent, wide-eyed doe that he had first met. 

Nathaniel draped his arms over the Bulldog’s shoulders, and put on an impressive pout when the Bulldog started to lean away, sensing a trap. Little did he know, there was no way out. 

If he rejected Nathaniel, then Riko would take that as an insult, and kill him. If he indulged in Nathaniel, then Riko would kill him for touching his things. He waited to see what the Bulldog would do. 

Nathaniel pouted more, and said in a whiny voice, “Come on, handsome. Why won’t you play with me? Are you not having fun?” Riko almost laughed when the Bulldog nodded frantically and tried to extract Nathaniel from his lap. 

Nathaniel let himself be manhandled, but when the Bulldog’s hand started discreetly moving up his upper leg, he smiled widely and stabbed a thin knife clean through the Bulldog’s hand. 

The Bulldog’s screams weren’t very loud, but Riko laughed all the same. Nathaniel went back to his side and started whispering in his ear suggestions on his death. 

That was what Riko loved about Nathaniel. Right from the start, Nathaniel hadn’t flinched away from  
Riko’s crimes, had even killed a man for him. And that had been before. 

Now, Nathaniel reveled in Riko’s activities and Riko himself, at nights like these. He enjoyed it as much as Riko did, and never shied away. 

Riko listened to Nathaniel’s sweet, high laughter while he drew out his gun, and shot the Bulldog straight in the head. 

>>

The car roared sixty miles over the speed limit, and Nathaniel stuck his head out of the window to feel the night air. He laughed, exhilarated, but then something on the rearview mirror caught his eye. It was the batmobile, gaining on them fast. 

It seemed as though Riko had caught the sight of the Batman as well, as he began going the maximum speed through Gotham city. The wind stung Nathaniel’s face now, but he didn’t withdraw; it made him feel alive. 

A loud thump on the car roof startled Nathaniel, and he snarled. “Stupid Bat, he’s ruining date night!” He laid his custom gun barrel straight up to the noises on the roof, and shot through the car roof. 

A muffled curse sounded, and Nathaniel laughed, delighted. Riko made a sharp turn, but it was a dead-end straight into the harbor. Nathaniel gasped, and grabbed Riko’s arm. 

“Puddin, I can’t swim!” was the last thing he got out before the car hit the water and the impact whited out Nathaniel’s vision. 

Nathaniel came to slumped over the broken window of the car. Riko was gone, but Nathaniel was glad. Better he escape and break Nathaniel out when the time came, than they both get caught and rendered useless. 

Nathaniel couldn’t breathe, but he suppressed the urge to gasp. That would only kill him faster. The water was cold, but Nathaniel felt a fresh current coming to his direction from his left, and he knew that it was the Batman. 

He waited a second, then lashed out with the knife he’d grabbed. But Nathaniel missed, and the Batman knocked him out with a single punch. 

>>

Bruce was in trouble. He’d meant to catch the King but he’d gotten his crazy little whore instead. It didn’t look like Nathaniel Wesninski was even breathing. 

Bruce couldn’t even feel his pulse. He sighed, then resigned himself to resuscitating Nathaniel. He hadn’t come here to kill anybody, and he wouldn’t leave with any bodies. 

Bruce pinched Nathaniel’s nose, then set his lips over Nathaniel’s and breathed in, out, in, out then Nathaniel jerked and started laughing, kissing Bruce in earnest. 

He shoved off Nathaniel with a cry of disgust, then quickly handcuffed him and led him to the mobile. Bruce cuffed Nathaniel’s elbows and ankles too. He’d heard that Nathaniel had once escaped two pairs of zipties by dislocating both of his wrists and thumbs. 

Nathaniel was still laughing when the Batmobile started up and roared down to the first prison Bruce could think of.


	3. Chapter 3

“Allison Reynolds was the picture perfect princess to her millionaire parents’ empire, but when she was twenty one, she ran away from home and made a name for herself in the unsavoury parts of Midway City using her pyrokinetic powers to kill her way to the top. But when her boyfriend, Seth Gordon was killed by the King, she went crazy and murdered eleven people in her fire-fueled rage.” 

>>

Allison stripped off her guns as she went inside her house to get a drink. The moment she stepped into the room she and Seth shared, however, she knew something was wrong. 

The house was far too empty. She had told Seth not to go out today, and he always listened when Allison warned him. She snapped her fingers, and a small flame appeared between her thumb and index finger, ready to fire up into an inferno. 

Allison scoured the room for a trap, but found none. Finally, she stepped into the deluxe bathroom, but stopped short at the sight she beheld. 

Seth’s head was in the toilet. It wasn’t moving. In his hand, he held a note. Allison stepped to it and pried it out of Seth’s stiff hand. 

_My dear Allison, I know this must come as a surprise to you, but I simply had no choice. You see, Seth here refused my offer for a job very rudely, not only to me, but to my darling, Nat. I had to retaliate. I hope you will consider my own offer for you to join me._

Allison’s whole body started shaking, and she burned the note in her hand. She walked closer to Seth’s body, and rage started filling the empty numbness. Seth had choked and drowned in his own fucking vomit. 

Allison took a step closer, the collapsed to her knees. Tears slid down her cheeks, but she didn’t feel it. Allison slid her hand through Seth’s stiff, cold fingers, and lifted her other hand, where two flames flickered to life. 

The flames moved around until they formed two vaguely humanoid shapes. The two fire people danced on the palm of Allison’s hand. 

She thought back to the night when Seth had quit his drugs for her. Allison had turned on the radio and switched around until she had found a good song, then grabbed Seth’s hand and danced with him until the sun rose. 

When they had finally laid down, Allison had kissed Seth hard, then whispered for him to quit the drugs he took because she loved him, because she didn’t want him to leave her. 

And Seth had told her he would. And he had. Seth had locked himself in the bathroom and purged himself of the drugs he’d been on. He’d been completely clean of drugs for two years. 

Then Riko had gone and killed him, just because he said no to a job. Allison closed her eyes, let one of the flames dance until it faded out, and the flame left dropped onto its knees. 

Allison sat and cried with Seth’s body for almost an hour, before letting the fire in her soul fill the empty void that Seth had left, and let the flames devour everything they reached in a white hot inferno. 

>>

“Interestingly enough, Allison Reynolds seems to show remorse for her actions in prison now, and refuses to respond to any violence. She says she’s repenting for her sins.”

Ichirou continued. “Now, these next few are a little more tamer than than the Monster and such, but I believe that they have just as much potential to do some good.” 

Councilman Alexander nodded. His attention was piqued now. 

“Danielle Wilds and Matt Boyd were caught together for robbing one of the most secure banks in Austria, but they were both sent to Edgar Allen, as Matt Boyd had accidentally ingested a body altering chemical that changed his appearance and physique to a sort of crocodile. Wilds refused to be transferred to another prison, saying that she would stick with her boyfriend until the end.” 

>>

Matt squinted into the darkness of the vault and felt a jump of anticipation in his stomach. “Babe, are you sure this is a good idea?” 

Dan looked back at Matt, with her trademark boomerang in her hand. “Of course it is, Matt. This money could get us out of this god-forsaken country. I’ve always wanted to go to America.” 

Matt only nodded, still nervous, and continued on. Dan slid a slender lockpick through the side of the vault door to open it, and after a minute of fiddling, got it open. 

The heavy door swung open to find . . . a computer. “Dan, what is this? I thought there would be piles of cash or something.” 

Dan laughed, and strode off to the computer. “Matt, you don’t think that people still do that, don’t you? Just leave cash lying around in a room? There are credit cards for a reason.” 

Matt flushed, and was glad that the dark hid his face. Dan started typing on the computer, and an eerie artificial glow lit up Dan’s face. 

Dan continued to do something on the computer while Matt fidgeted with his now rough and scaly fingers. Honestly, the serum that had transformed Matt wasn’t that bad. 

He didn’t care about his looks, and the only thing that he had worried about was Dan leaving him, but Dan hadn’t even blinked when he’d come home like that. 

She’d simply asked him if it hurt, and after seeing a doctor, they’d decided if it was an easy option, they’d change it to fit in, but otherwise, Matt would just stay the way he was. 

Matt drifted in his thoughts until his vision caught a flash of movement. Being transformed had helped his eyesight, as well. 

Before, he had needed glasses, but now he saw better than the average human. Matt tracked the dark shape, but before he knew it, it was flying toward him too fast to dodge. 

Matt was tackled, and handcuffed. However, he snapped the handcuffs before thinking, and the dark shape whipped back to him. 

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to break them, it was an accident!” The dark shape stood still for a moment, as if shocked, then spoke in a gruff voice. “Will you come willingly?” 

Matt nodded frantically, and after a moment, Dan did as well. The dark shape snorted. “I cannot believe that I was called here for a crocodile monster and Captain Boomerang, only for them to come willingly.” 

Matt laughed nervously, and glanced at Dan, who looked perplexed. Matt held his hands out in case the dark shape wanted to handcuff him again, and the man snorted again. 

>>

“Matt Boyd, we sentence you to Edgar Allen Prison for an undecided amount of time for assisting in a robbery with Danielle Wilds, aka Captain Boomerang.” The judge announced. 

Dan immediately stood up, hand raised, and said, “I would like to accompany Matt Boyd to Edgar Allen.” The judge looked very confused at that, and shook his head. 

“Danielle Wilds, you are sentenced to ten years in Gotham’s penitentiary.” Dan looked enraged then, and shouted fiercely, “Why? I have committed the exact same crime as Matt Boyd here, and he has not been charged for any crimes before this one. I have a criminal records in two different countries, so why are you not sentencing me to Edgar Allen?” 

 

Everybody in the courtroom looked astounded. 

“I believe that this is discrimination against Matt Boyd’s appearance, which was transformed entirely by accident. Matt Boyd should be going to a lesser prison than I am, and if you decide that wouldn’t be lawful, I will go with Matt Boyd to Edgar Allen.” 

Dan took a deep breath. Everybody in the court looked shocked at Dan’s outburst, and Matt couldn’t help but feel proud of Dan. 

Eventually, the judge announced that Dan would go with Matt to Edgar Allen, to which Dan responded with, “I knew it. You are discriminating against him because he looks like a monster, without even investigating.” 

The judge looked like a kicked puppy right then and there, and Matt felt his heart burst with pride and love for Dan.


	4. Chapter 4

Ichirou snorted. “Quite an interesting case, I would think.” Councilman Alexander nodded, and murmured his agreement. 

“Now, I saved the best for last. The sorceress.” 

“The sorceress?”Councilman Alexander asked. 

“Yes, a sorceress. She fits every stereotype. She flies, makes things disappear, spell-casts, all of that.”

“One day, Dr. Abigail Winfield was just doing her job, when a suspicious looking man with an infected stab wound shows up at her clinic. In his bag, she found several strange items. She opened something she shouldn’t have. She released a metahuman more powerful than anything we have ever encountered. The Enchantress.” 

>>

Abby stared at the contents of the duffle bag. Inside, several different artifacts lay stuffed between dirty t-shirts. 

However, one in particular looked very strange. It was a statuette, but it appeared damaged. At the neck of the statuette, a black, tar-like substance had formed. 

Abby furrowed her brow, and picked the statuette up. More black stuff came dribbling out as she did so. It spread over her fingers, but Abby wasn’t paying attention to that. From that statuette came an alluring voice, calling Abby’s name. 

She took ahold of the statuettes head, and snapped it. Abruptly, grey smoke came pouring out, and Abby backed away, but the smoke followed. 

Gasping, she shook the door knob, but it refused to budge. The grey smoke was cornering Abby into the door. Tendrils of the cloud started to spear at her, and Abby tried to dodge, but one got right to her face and into her mouth. 

A peculiar burning sensation spread from her face to her entire body, and darkness took over her vision. 

>>

Councilman Alexander looked appalled. “And just where is this witch now?” He asked. Ichirou nodded to one of the bodyguards stationed at his table, and he came to the table with a metal briefcase. 

“The witch is right here, in this case.” Ichirou answered. He unlatched the case, and pressed a finger to the top. 

A screen inside read, Disarmed, and the bomb inside stopped beeping. Ichirou smiled. “You see, there are legends that this witch has a heart, and whoever has the heart controls the witch. We investigated the bag the witch was found in, and we found the heart.” 

Councilman Alexander looked from the case back to Ichirou’s blank face, and frowned. 

“You want to put the fate of our city into the hands of witches, gangbangers, and crocodiles?” 

Ichirou smirked. “Don’t forget the King’s boyfriend,” He replied. Councilman Alexander scowled more. 

“What makes you think that we can control any of these people, Ichirou? Excluding the witch, there isn’t any guarantee that they’ll do what we want the to do.” 

“I think I can control these people because my job is making people act against their self-interests for the American Government. Take officer David Wymack. He’s one of the finest that our country has ever produced. He found Dr. Winfield, and I assigned him to protect her. And just as I hoped, it got to be more than business. I have the Enchantress’s heart, and Dr. Winfield has Wymack’s.” 

“Now, all these criminals are currently located in Edgar Allen Prison, one of the most high security prisons in the world. I would like to present a case to the Board about initiating Task force X. What do you think, Councilman?” 

It wasn’t phrased as a question. 

Councilman Alexander paused, as if pondering, and after a minute, his gaze sharpened, and he nodded. Ichirou smiled, victorious. “Let’s see how it’ll go over with the board, shall we?” 

>>

Ichirou walked into the council room exactly on time. All the other councilors were already there, however. It was a little enlightening, how everybody had bothered to show up, early, even. 

It meant they were interested in what Ichirou had to say, whether they supported his idea or not. 

Ichirou took a breath, and somebody called the room to order. The talking stopped almost immediately, but Ichirou waited a second before he spoke. 

“In this day and age, hundreds of metahumans are emerging into the public eye. New forces come into power every day.” 

He continued. “Now, what would happen if one of those metahumans happened to swoop in down to the White House and kidnap our president?” 

There was a long silence, then one woman down back spoke up. “We wouldn’t be able to do anything, at least not fast.” Ichirou nodded. His point was proven, and the woman became ten thousand dollars richer. 

“The only way we can beat a metahuman, besides nuking them, is by pitting them against its own kind. Fighting fire by fire, you would say.” Ichirou continued. “What I am proposing, is to make up a professional team of criminal metahumans to fight terrorists, armies, anything.”

Immediately, the room went in uproar. Shouting and arguments sounded from every corner. Ichirou waited patiently for them to stop squabbling. It took a very long time, but eventually, everybody turned back to Ichirou. 

“I know that most of you are unconvinced on the benefits and risks,” Ichirou acknowledged. “But allow me to convince you all.” Ichirou took a step back, and gestured to Abigail Winfield to take the stage. 

“Hello. My name is Abigail Winfield. I am a paramedic and surgeon. The metahuman known as the Enchantress is currently inhabiting my body. This is a demonstration of what she, and many other ‘dangerous’ metahumans can accomplish.” 

In the corner of the room, Sergeant Wymack stiffened as Abigail Winfield whispered, “Enchantress.” Immediately, black fingers gripped Abigail’s, and her form changed into a vaguely humanoid shape with smoke over it, like a second skin. 

Ichirou watched for a second as the room gaped at the witch, then flicked his hand. Abigail immediately disappeared without any trace, and a second later, appeared to the back of Councilor Trastin. 

In her hand, she held a thick white binder labelled, PRIVATE. Trastin paled, and the Enchantress disappeared again, and came back in the corner of the room. After a brief pause, the Enchantress began to tremble, and a moment later, Abigail Winfield came back, a little pale but more or less the same. 

Trastin flipped open the binder, and after examining a few pages, held it up and announced in a shaky voice, “These are the North Korean nuclear warfare plans. We’ve been trying to get these for over a decade.” 

Stunned silence spread out through the people. Collectively, everybody looked up to stare at Abigail. Tiny spots of color appeared on her cheeks, but Abigail held her head high, and nodded. 

Ichirou allowed the wonder to spread from person to person in whispers for a minute longer, before raising a steady palm for silence. “Well, what are your decisions?” Ichirou waited a beat, allowing the people to discuss. “I would like to let you all know that I am counting all votes. It will not be a fair vote without everybody voting.” 

Several senior councilman started to demand otherwise. Ichirou’s lip curled at the sight of them. They were all old, white, and privileged. Ichirou might have inherited his family’s dynasty, but he had still fought for the right to keep it. These spoiled men had done nothing by themselves. 

Meanwhile, several younger members of the council looked very surprised, but pleasantly. Probably, nobody had ever taken the youths into consideration. This way, the very start of Task force X would be supported fiercely by the younger officials. They outnumbered the older, more interested in “the good old days” members. 

Eventually, Ichirou smoothed his face back to a blank yet peaceful expression. “Voting starts now. Please raise your hand if you vote for the release of Task force X.” As expected, almost all of the younger people raised their hands, while the seniors stayed with their hands in their laps, stony faced. 

The votes, once counted, were unanimously to Ichirou’s favour. Now, there was the matter of the highest official. Amir Parsten had quickly risen to the top of the food chain, despite not being white, born into a high family, or American born. He’d made it through his cunning. Ichirou respected him, but if he stood against Ichirou, he’d die. 

The whole room breathed in a collective breath, waiting for Parsten’s answer. He took a long time, pondering the prospective money to be made out of the Task force. It looked as though something was troubling him, though. His eyebrows were creased, and his hands were tenser than normal. 

Nevertheless, he nodded yes, to approve. After almost half an hour of listening to everybody’s meaningless suggestions, Ichirou left with a victory and a paper authorizing Task Force X. 

The first person he sent an order for was Andrew Minyard. Despite not being a confirmed metahuman, he had the largest number of solo kills. He would probably the leader of the force that Ichirou was creating. 

It would be essential to test out each of the subjects’ abilities individually, and Andrew Minyard was the one who could prove the biggest challenge, with a stubborn yet highly intelligent mind, with an eidetic memory and the ability to wield any weapon, especially throwing knives, with efficiency.


	5. Chapter 5

Andrew landed another punch on the boxing bag, then stopped and shook out his hands when the call went up for dinnertime. Andrew hated the guards. They were always trying to show of their masculinity through stupid shows of toughness. 

The only tolerable one was Kevin, and he was spineless. But the Captain? Honestly, Andrew despised him. Andrew knew what he did to some of the prisoners in Edgar Allen. He’d heard some of the shouts and sounds of blows from afar. 

One in particular, however, was always singled out for the Captain. Whoever was in the cell next to Andrew’s. Despite the prison being maximum security, there were still windows with bars on them. Really though, they didn’t even need to put the bars on. There was no way that Andrew would ever be able to reach even the two blocks below it. 

Andrew wished that Aaron had been in the cell next to him, but that would never have happened. It was too improbable. Instead of his twin brother whom he may have some sort of emotional attachment to, he got a hysterical psycho that laughed and taunted the Captain when he came in. 

Andrew may have hated the guards, but they were his only source to finding out information about his brother. He stayed calm and even friendly with them, and in turn, they’d give him some hints, nothing incriminating, but helpful all the same. 

He waited for the guards to come with his food, and today, the Captain hadn’t joined them as he usually did. This was the perfect opportunity to ask about the psycho next door. And if the Captain had hurt Aaron, or attempted to. 

One of the guards that Andrew was friendlier with, Montgomery, opened up the little slot and slid a little plate with a piece of food across. Before the slot closed, Andrew shot his hand in the slot and held out two fingers. The guard tapped them, and propped the flap open. 

“What is it you want to ask me today, Andrew?” He drawled. Andrew hated the way Montgomery said his name, but he wasn’t about to give up one of his only times he could ask about the Captain’s activities. 

“Who’s the crazy next-door? And why is he sometimes screaming?” Andrew asked. The guard looked a little shifty, and looked left and right. 

“His name’s Nathaniel Wesninski. He’s the King’s little boyfriend. And . . . he screams because the Captain comes in and beats him up . . . a little. 

Andrew already knew all the atrocious things that happened in Edgar Allen, but to hear it confirmed was infuriating. The circumstances were a little too close to comfort too. Montgomery whispered again, “You won’t tell anyone about this, yeah?” 

Andrew smiled, and answered back, “Of course I won’t.” 

>>  
Andrew could hear conversation going on the cell next to his. It sounded like Wesninski was trying to goad the Captain into hitting him. Why wouldn’t the fool just stop antagonizing everybody who had power over him? It didn’t make sense. Wesninski clearly didn’t want to be hurt, so why wouldn’t he stop goading everybody to do so? 

The Captain’s low, gruff voice sounded amused. Nathaniel’s higher, mocking voice taunted him. Andrew listened to them exchange a few words, then Nathaniel made a snide little comment about the sizes of certain body parts on the Captain. 

Andrew heard him growl, and the creak of the cell door swinging open sounded. He sighed. He knew what was coming next. 

>>

There was commotion stirring up down Andrew’s cell. That was strange. Usually, the guards didn’t come in unless it was mealtime. There had never been an exception to that rule. Except for now, of course. 

Andrew sat motionless as the reinforced metal door swung open. He refused to show his surprise on his face when the Captain walked in. 

“Listen up, this isn’t up to me, so you better cooperate and listen to my orders like the Ten Commandments, because otherwise, I’ll throw you back into your cell so fast you’ll get whiplash. Got it?” 

Andrew nodded, and tried to look as respectful as possible. It was hard, not laughing at this stupid macho-man nonsense, but he managed. The Captain barked out orders to some men in heavy armor. 

The sheer number of guards just here to escort Andrew was astounding. He wasn’t even a real metahuman. He was just a man with good aim. Admittedly, that aim was the best in the whole country, and maybe world. Before the Batman had forced both Andrew and Aaron into prison, they’d been one of the highest paid mercenaries in the state. 

Guards manhandled Andrew to his feet, and led him off to who knows where. Maybe they had finally decided that Andrew was too much of a hassle to keep. Probably not, though. He had maintained his disinterested and calm front for the whole nine months that he and Aaron had been at Edgar Allen. 

Andrew walked down seven hallways, and four different doors. Eventually, the guards had led him outside. He took a deep breath. 

It had been a long time since Andrew had gone out. He’d been given the privilege of going outside once a month, but that wasn’t enough. Andrew had felt caged in his tiny cell, even if he didn’t show it. 

However, when he walked down the courtyard, a curious sight awaited him. 

A metal tray overflowing with different projectile weapons was presented in front of Andrew. It contained all of the weapons Andrew had used and some. There were a dozen more soldiers outside, all with some sort of high-tech gun. 

In front of them, stood the only one besides Andrew who didn’t wear a helmet. Andrew took that to believe he was the leader of the soldiers outside. He gestured to the table. “What is this all about?” 

The man looked a little disgruntled when he saw Andrew. “I want a demonstration. We’ve all heard of the man who never misses. Let’s test that.” 

Andrew surveyed the weapons, then picked up a simple throwing knife. He threw it with carelessness. It landed on the dirt about fifteen feet from where Andrew stood. Next to him, a guard snorted, and Andrew heard him whisper, “I knew it. They were just rumors.” 

He’d planned to just throw knives all over the place, but that comment rubbed him wrong. Besides, he was bored. It had been ages since he’d even held a fork. This might dislodge the unending boredom for a little while. 

Andrew picked up two more of the same knives in each hand, considered them, then threw them in rapid succession. A collective intake of breath was heard. 

On the ground, where Andrew had chucked the first knife, there were two more knives sunk deep into the handles. 

“We’re taking him. Prepare him for travel.” The man didn’t look impressed, just slightly intrigued, with a hint of pity. 

Andrew was looking forward to whatever this was. It had been too long since he’d seen the world.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for leaving this alone for so long. I have been having a difficult time irl, and motivation isn't there for me anymore. I hope you enjoy this super short chapter.

Nathaniel was laughing. It hurt his chest from where one of the guards had gotten a punch in, but he didn’t stop. It was fun, stretching out his muscles after so much of time spent lazing around in his cell. 

He might as well incapacitate as many as he could before they started stunning everything moving, damning the guards in the way. A jagged piece of glass was clutched in Nathaniel’s hand, cutting into the guard’s weak points in their armor. 

It was taking entirely too long for the guards to start waving their stupid electric batons at anything and everything that moved. Nathaniel was beginning to tire, and he’d much prefer to pass out from a quick electric charge instead of being beaten to unconsciousness. 

Then a sharp, paralyzing agony started in his back, and Nathaniel thought, Oh. There it is. 

>>

David Wymack was absolutely not paid enough to deal with dysfunctional, murderous teenagers. 

Andrew Minyard couldn’t have been older than twenty; yet he had four life sentences in the strongest, most impenetrable prison in the U. S. The rest of criminals that Ichirou had sent David to collect were all college age. 

Jesus. How did all these kids even get into Edgar Allen? Officially, Andrew and Aaron Minyard had killed over thirty people before they’d even become legal adults. That number had only increased as they aged; their tally soon surpassed one hundred. 

And that wasn't even mentioning Nathaniel Wesninski. The kid was one messed up teen. Most teenagers his age were getting in trouble graffiting; getting drunk and messing around in highschool or college. 

Instead, Wesninski enrolled himself into a junior program in Arkham Asylum, and had gotten himself assigned to the King himself. Riko Moriyama. 

David didn’t know the specifics, but he did know that the kid had more confirmed murders than his own father; the Butcher of Baltimore, and that wasn’t the least of it. Riko Moriyama had confirmed the suspicions that he and Wesninski had had a relationship. 

He’d bragged about Nathaniel, in fact. Spouted some bullshit about how Nathaniel would do anything for him. 

It made David sick; both the fact that Moriyama had taken advantage of a teen, and the idea of him manipulating Nathaniel into murdering. 

Of course, the other criminals weren’t much better. Dan Wilds and Matt Boyd had been captured together for petty theft. Except, the petty theft in question had been committed in one of the best-guarded banks in the world. 

A milder crime than the other’s, but they’d both been sent to Edgar Allen for a reason. Dan Wilds had a criminal record, and while Matt Boyd did not, the judge had been no doubt biased by Boyd’s. . . abnormal appearance. 

David felt quite bad for Allison Reynolds, however. She’d apparently accidentally murdered over a dozen people in a flaming rage soon after finding her boyfriend dead. She most definitely didn’t deserve whatever pit that Edgar Allen had thrown her into, but she was out now.

At least he had Abby and Renee to help him out with them. Whatever weird alien that had taken its place in Abby’s body hadn’t stopped her from working her regular hours. She’d been the one spot of solace in his dreary life, and he wasn’t about to give her up now.

And also, David really would take anyone he could get. He wasn’t getting paid at all.


End file.
